What is a Content Management System (CMS)?

Online Information Management

Since the internet became such an integral part of business, the need for regularly updated and accurate online content has increased. Website content needs to be continually reviewed and updated to keep up-to-date as well as appealing to customers, clients, suppliers and search engines.

Typical aspects of a CMS include:

• Content distribution by non-technical users, reducing the need for technical staff
• Content access rights for control
• Content approval for structured workflow processes
• Content archiving and versioning for back up
• Content templates for consistent output
• Content workflow

The Advantages of Content Management

Content Management provides many advantages over traditional methods of information editing particularly if teams of people are necessary for the production of content as the system allows simple content workflow, authoring, authorising and publication.

1. Control

• Content ownership – empowers businesses to quickly and efficiently update their online information without technical intervention.
• Content Accessibility – ensure that your site adheres to Disability Discrimination Act (DDA 2005) as well as providing cross-browser compliance.

2. Decrease Costs
A Content Management System lowers costs associated with managing information online.

• Content Creation – CMS removes the need for a third party or the services of in-house technical staff
• Content Management – Content is maintained by business users and standard processes are automated. Website maintenance such ask link validation and archiving pages can be done by a content management system automatically
• Content Publishing – Content can be scheduled for publication/removal in advance, which reduced the technical burden of constantly searching for assets.

3. Increase Revenues
A Content Management System provides user-defined marketing campaigns and can provide e-commerce solutions through an existing system.

• Time Sensitive Opportunities – Being efficient with updated content can increase revenue opportunity ahead of competitors
• Fresh Content – regularly updated content encourages return custom, resulting in increasing revenue.

4. Improve Accountability
All content authoring, authorising and publishing is traceable created a clear workflow of accountability for every action.

• Audit trial – provides a snapshot history of content changes
• Version Control – automatic backing up of content as changes are made.

5. Maintain Consistency
Content published is clear and consistently presented

• Presentation Consistency – using pre-defined templates to create a mechanism for maintaining a consistent look and feel.
• Brand Integrity – is enforced by a CMS which automatically ensure all page layout is consistent with corporate policy including logos and design.

With a CMS v Without a CMS

Without a CMS – Pages are created as copies of existing ones, sitemap and navigational links are updated by hand usually by technical staff. Content and template are not interchangeable and display is determined by the developers. Workflow is ad-hoc done by emails from a personal account in an ad-hoc fashion, subject to human error. Content published by a webmaster.

With a CMS – Pages are created on a pre-defined default, all navigational links are automatically updated and a full audit is available. Templates are separate from content and maintain consistency throughout the site. Workflows are built to mirror designated business processes, recording an audit of each stage. Content is published by non-technical users.

Improve Communication while Reducing Costs

The two most important advantages that a CMS offers are:

Improved Communication – Therefore faster response to customer demands, improved content accessibility and improved content distribution.

Reduced costs – As no intervention from technical staff, navigational structures easy to update, information accessibility standards enforced transparently. A Content management system enables users to efficiently manage information online.

Weigh up the Benefits

• Calculate how much time and money performing a routine page update is using currently and compare with just one or two non-technical staff doing this job.
• Calculate how long it takes to create a new page and generate navigational links. Compare with how long this would take with a CMS.
• Calculate how long it takes to get office spreadsheets and documents uploaded on the web at the moment. Compare with how long this would take with a CMS.

What to look for in a Content Management System

• Online Marketing – Mail management, newsletters, direct marketing, personalisation
• Search Engine Optimisation – Creating a Search Engine friendly site, so the relevant web pages are easy to find for your customers, suppliers and clients
• User Management – User profiles, user groups. The provision of access levels and permission status appropriate for every user/staff member
• Accessibility – Bobby compliance in line with Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) guidelines. Cross-browser compatibility